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Our Helper In Prayer · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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And again for a little to the chapter we read in John's Gospel, John chapter 14.
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If we could read again at verse 16.
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And I will ask my father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever,
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even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
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But you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you.
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And we know at the beginning of the chapter Jesus has just told the disciples that he's going to go away from them.
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And while that was news that absolutely floored them, flattened them,
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because they hadn't really grasped the totality of what Jesus's mission was about.
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And Jesus had told them they just weren't getting hold of.
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They weren't grasping really what he was saying.
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But he also tells them that while he's going to go away,
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he's also going to come back and he's going to take them to be with himself.
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And the wonderful thing is that the promise that he gave the disciples then is a promise that goes on for all his disciples right up until now.
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And of course, we know that the main way in which Jesus went from them was to the cross,
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because this is the way he was making preparation.
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There is no preparation for salvation apart from the cross.
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So when Jesus was telling them that he was going from them,
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that's what he tells us at the beginning,
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he said to them, I go and prepare a place for you.
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And we must always remember that the main way in which Christ has prepared the place for us
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is by his death and resurrection.
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But that being said, we've also got to remember that Jesus is also preparing us for that place in glory.
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And this Bible makes it very clear to us that through all the different providences that go on in our lives,
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accompanied by the word and the ministry of the spirit,
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that God is preparing us and shaping us and molding us and making us ready for that glory.
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And we know that at that there'll come a moment when we pass from time into eternity.
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And as our catechism puts it beautifully,
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that the souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness
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and do immediately pass into glory.
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Because we find it so difficult to understand how it's possible for us,
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as we are right now, to go into the holiness of glory.
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Because we are so conscious of our sin and our failing.
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And we say, how is it possible that someone so unclean as me
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can be brought into the purity of glory?
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But we are led to believe and to understand that a transition takes place at death
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and where all the great work that has gone on in a moment,
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that we are made completely fit for this new environment.
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Our souls are made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory.
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So this is all part of the work that Jesus is here talking about.
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And of course, when Jesus told them that he was going away from them,
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we find that Thomas, and we could almost say,
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good old Thomas with the questions.
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Thomas, I think we saw that before,
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was one of the disciples that tended to be very slow on the uptake.
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He didn't grasp things very quickly.
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And he tended to be a bit of a pessimist.
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But he asks a great question.
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And some of the great statements in the Bible have come on the back of a question.
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And it's good for us to ask questions.
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And Thomas, he says very simply, but he says to Jesus,
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Lord, we do not know where you're going.
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How can we know the way?
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And in response to that question,
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Jesus gives us one of the great answers.
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And it's at the very heart of everything that we believe,
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where Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life,
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not just our way, but the way.
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And it's important to emphasize that,
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that Jesus doesn't just say that I am one of many ways to God.
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There is only one way.
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Jesus goes on actually to say that.
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And he says, no one comes to the Father except through me.
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You know, people will tell us,
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and I'm sure you've heard people say,
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that it doesn't really matter how you come to God,
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as long as you're sincere, that sincerity is the key.
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Well, we know that we can be sincerely wrong.
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And the Bible and Jesus makes it abundantly clear
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that he is the way, he is the truth, and he is the life.
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And it's important for us to emphasize that,
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particularly in the day that we live in,
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where people say that you cannot be as dogmatic and emphatic.
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We can only say what the word of God tells us.
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And then in verses 13 and 14,
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Jesus gives the disciples the great encouragement to pray.
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And then in verse 16,
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he talks about the sending of the Spirit, the helper.
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And of course, as we know,
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the coming of the Spirit in power,
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the Holy Spirit came in power in Pentecost.
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Of course, the Holy Spirit was always present,
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but not as manifest,
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didn't display his presence
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in the way that he did after Pentecost.
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We know that the Holy Spirit
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is wonderfully linked to prayer.
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In fact, we would go as far as to say
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that we can't really have true prayer
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apart from the Spirit.
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And so Jesus here calls the Holy Spirit,
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the helper.
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This is what he says.
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And I will give you a helper to be with you.
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And again, if you look down at the bottom,
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at the bottom of you,
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if you have the ESV with you,
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it also says advocate or counselor.
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So that these are other descriptions
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of this word helper,
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which in a sense really helps our understanding
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of really what the Holy Spirit's work is.
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So we're thinking about this,
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the Holy Spirit is a helper.
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And we have to ask ourselves,
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in what ways does the Holy Spirit help us?
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And of course, the Holy Spirit helps us
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as we see tying it into the context here.
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He helps us in prayer.
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And that's very, very important.
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You remember how the disciples came to Jesus
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and they said,
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Lord, teach us to pray.
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And I'm sure the disciples,
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they came to Jesus requesting that
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because they had heard him pray.
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They had seen him pray.
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They had seen his commitment to prayer.
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They saw how freely he prayed,
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how readily he prayed.
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And I'm sure if they were like us,
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and they would have been,
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they would often have found prayer
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maybe hard or difficult.
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And they would say,
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you know, Lord,
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you're really going to have to teach us to pray
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because we can't pray the way
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that we see you able to pray.
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And of course, we know in response to that,
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the Lord gave us what we have as the Lord's prayer.
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And so the Holy Spirit,
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we come and we say,
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Lord, teach us to pray.
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And one of the things that the Holy Spirit does
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is the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray
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and prompts us in prayer.
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And I'm sure that there have been many occasions
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when we have felt the urge to pray.
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Now, I can say quite categorically,
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if you and I get the urge to pray,
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that that urge does not come from Satan.
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Satan will never urge us to pray
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because he will do everything in his power
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to prevent us praying.
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You and I know that how often we go to pray
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and everything is put against us.
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Our mind is distracted
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and other distractions come in the way.
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You can, there's 101 things happen
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when we want to pray.
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So Satan will never encourage us
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or prompt us to pray.
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So we'll be sure of that.
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Neither will our own heart of unbelief
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encourage us or prompt us to pray.
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So when we are prompted to pray,
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and whatever it's about,
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whether we're praying about something about ourselves
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or whether we're praying about a particular situation
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or we're praying about a particular person
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who might be in the room beside you
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or could be on the other side of the world,
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we need to respond to these promptings
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because we believe that these promptings come to us
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from the Holy Spirit,
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that this is one of the ways in which the Spirit works.
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And, you know, I'm sure we've all had times like that
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where we felt compelled to pray for someone.
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Some of the times you will never have any understanding
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or knowledge of why.
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But I'm sure we all know of times
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where you have felt that you had to pray for someone
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and you have found out why.
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Often we won't.
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Often we don't know in this world.
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So very often that we have to pray.
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But this is all part of God's wonderful ministry for the church
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because God is watching over us all the time.
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And it's part of the wonderful way
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of which where he administers
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the government of his church
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is having his people pray for one another.
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And so, so often we are prompted
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to pray for one another.
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And again, the Holy Spirit prompts us
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to pray for the glory of God.
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Now, quite often, and I'm sure I'm as guilty as anybody,
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sometimes when we pray, we might just add on.
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And we pray, Lord, for your glory's sake.
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We pray for your glory.
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We pray, Lord, this for your glory.
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And we know that we should and we want that.
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But sometimes we don't,
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we maybe don't think about it in the way that we ought.
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But when the Holy Spirit is moving us to pray
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and bringing that into our thinking,
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then our prayer will be such that we will be,
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we will be keener or we will be more desirous,
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I should say, of God's glory being brought to bear
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than even our own will as such being fulfilled.
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Because when we're deciding the glory of God,
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then our own will becomes second place.
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We genuinely want the glory of God to be displayed
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and to be seen.
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And you and I know that sometimes God will work
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in a very different way to the way that we would expect
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or sometimes even want.
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But the Holy Spirit leads us and directs us
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in this particular way.
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And again, the Holy Spirit in prayer brings God's word
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so often to our mind to pray.
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And of course, this is essential, a key to prayer.
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You know, again, sometimes people say,
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well, I don't really know how to pray
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or what to pray for.
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Well, if our prayers are based upon God's word,
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then we're always praying in the right direction.
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And we know that when we are praying
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according to God's word,
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we are praying according to God's will.
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Because God's will and God's word are one.
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They're not working in opposite directions.
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And so the Holy Spirit will often bring
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the promises of God to bear.
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And you know, it's a wonderful thing to have God's promise
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and to go to the Lord like David did and say,
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Lord, do as you have said.
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So it's key that our prayers are based upon God's word.
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And of course, the Holy Spirit,
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not just with regard to prayer,
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but the Holy Spirit is often bringing God's word to bear
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upon our different situations.
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Very often, I'm sure you can think back in your own life
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where sometimes God's word just comes
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and you know that this is a word from the Lord.
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It's just come, like as it were, out of the blue.
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And you're given the faith to cling hold of it.
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And sometimes it might be that you're puzzled.
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You're looking for a direction.
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You're not sure about something that you're to do,
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but you don't know, am I to do it or am I what?
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And you're in a quandary and you're praying about it.
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And then God's word, it might be while you're reading it,
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but sometimes it just comes to you.
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And sometimes God will bring his word in a way
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that you know this is him speaking to you.
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And it might be sometimes it could be
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when you're really down.
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You are so down, you're so low.
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And then God brings his word of comfort
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and strength into your soul.
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Because God's word is strengthening.
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That's part of what, when the Holy Spirit
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brings God's word, he brings strength
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into your soul at the same time.
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And so we find that the Holy Spirit, of course,
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is working in us and working for us.
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And one of the things that the Holy Spirit does for us,
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we're told in scripture, is that he intercedes for us.
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We're told that in Romans.
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And so we have this helper.
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This is part of what he does as the great helper,
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that he makes intercession for us.
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Now, we've got to remember that the Bible also tells us
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that Jesus makes intercession for us.
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And the way that Jesus makes intercession for us
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and the way the Holy Spirit will intercede
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with groanings, which it's different in different ways.
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And I think maybe when you have this word translated down
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at the bottom and advocate, probably gives a,
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puts, sheds more light on it.
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Because when Jesus is interceding for us,
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what he is doing is he is standing as our representative.
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And he is presenting himself and his own finished work
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and his own worth and his own merit
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as the grounds of our acceptance before God.
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And so he is there as the advocate,
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pleading for us on behalf of what he has done.
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But, you know, an advocate also is somebody
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who will maybe advise a client on what to say.
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I understand that that's part of what would be involved.
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And that's exactly what the Holy Spirit is doing.
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He's advising us or he is leading us
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in what we ought to say
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in when we're speaking to the Father.
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So we can see that the work of Jesus
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and the work of the Holy Spirit,
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of course, that's one God,
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we see the difference in these things.
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And so we find that the Holy Spirit
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is working in us all the time
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and helping us to pray aright.
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And the Holy Spirit, of course,
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as we see here,
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it's a counselor who's advising us
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and directing us and guiding us
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in the right way.
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But the Bible also tells us
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that the Holy Spirit is very easily grieved.
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We can grieve the Holy Spirit.
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It's like it's as if he's very, very sensitive.
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And that is why it is so important
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that we live in obedience to the Lord.
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And I think maybe that's why Jesus says in verse 15,
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if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
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And I will ask the Father
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and he'll give you another helper
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to be with you forever,
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even the spirit of truth.
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So there's this obedience is tied in
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to the work of the Holy Spirit.
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And the beauty of this,
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first and foremost,
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is that Jesus says
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for the coming of the helper
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is forever,
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to be with you forever.
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Now, isn't that wonderful?
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That there is no point
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once the Holy Spirit comes into your life
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as advocate, as counselor, as helper,
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when he will forsake you,
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when he will depart.
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But that having been said,
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we don't always have the light.
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We don't always have the sense
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of the Spirit's presence with us.
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Because as we said,
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we can grieve the Spirit.
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And if we are living in disobedience
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for not living the way we should,
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and we're grieving the Spirit,
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then the Spirit's influence
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in our life will not be so great.
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And we won't be so aware of his help.
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And we won't be so aware of his light
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and his encouragement
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and all these things.
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Bible shows us with regard to prayer
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that it gives us many different instances
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of how there will be certain things
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will block us in prayer.
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We're told that by being unjust,
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it hinders our prayers.
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We're told that by being loveless,
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it hinders our prayer.
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We're even told by having
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an unforgiving spirit,
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it's a hindrance to prayer.
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We're told that husbands,
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remember what in Peter it says,
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husbands are to consider it to their wives.
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And it says here,
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lest your prayers be hindered.
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So it would appear that even that
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can grieve the Spirit,
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it can affect our prayer life.
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We have the most wonderful privilege
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in having this divine helper with us,
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enabling us to pray in the Spirit.
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And we must always ask the Lord,
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Lord, help me to pray.
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Help me to be in the Spirit as I pray.
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Because that way,
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it won't be simply words.
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It'll be from the heart.
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It'll be real.
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There'll be a reality to it.
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It's a spirit of truth.
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And our prayers will be true.
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They'll be real.
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So let us thank the Lord
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for this wonderful privilege
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that is given to us
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in the coming of the helper,
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the Holy Spirit,
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into our heart.
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Let us pray.
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Lord, our God,
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we give thanks for the great gift
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that you have given to every single one of us
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in sending the helper,
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the Holy Spirit,
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into our heart.
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we pray that you will bless every one of us.
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Bless us with health and with strength
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and body, mind, and soul.
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Encourage us, Lord, as we go along
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in a world that is so full of discouragement,
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a world that is in enmity against yourself.
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Oh, Lord, have mercy upon us, we pray.
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Have mercy upon our rulers and our leaders.
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Have mercy upon us in everything that we do.
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Lord, as we heard, Lord,
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we pray for Ukraine
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and the fearful situation there.
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Oh, we would ask, Lord,
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that you would turn,
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turn the enmity
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so that peace will come.
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Peace may reign.
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Lord, we pray for those who are so ill.
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And we remember again,
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Duncan McLean,
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and we pray for Annabelle and the family.
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Lord, we commit to your care.
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We ask for Mrs. Macphail
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and a very, very serious major surgery.
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Ask, Lord, your hand to be upon her.
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We pray for Annie MacArthur too.
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We ask that your blessing will be upon her.
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And all who are laid aside at this time,
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we ask that your healing,
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your gracious, restoring hand might be upon them.
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We remember the family of the late Ian Campbell
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and pray that your blessing will be upon them.
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And ask, Lord, that you would be with them.
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Watch over us,
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and we ask that you will part us now with your blessing,
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taking us to our home safely
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and forgive us our every sin in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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We're going to conclude singing.